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March 29, 2024

Lismore’s Trinity Catholic school scores $1.6m grant

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Trinity Catholic College in Lismore.
Trinity Catholic College in Lismore.

Trinity Catholic College in Lismore will soon have an improved Technical and Applied Studies facility as a result of a Federal Government grant of more than $1.6 million.

Funding through the Capital Grants Program will go towards refurbishing the existing specialised learning areas to consolidate all technical and applied studies facilities on the St Josephs campus, and to generally provide improved flood protection.

Page MP Kevin Hogan is announcing the funding at the school today.

‘These funds will ensure students at Trinity Catholic College have the infrastructure necessary to help them get the most out of their time at school,’ Mr Hogan said.

He said the Capital Grants Program provides funding for non-government schools to improve capital infrastructure where they otherwise may not have access to sufficient resources.

‘The Coalition Government is committed to improving the quality of our school education and ensuring students have access to the resources they need so they are equipped with the skills to succeed in an increasingly competitive world,’ Mr Hogan said.

‘The Government believes in an education system that puts students first. That’s why in addition to our Capital Grants Program, our record levels of schools funding will be allocated according to need and tied to a range of evidence-based initiatives.

‘These initiatives will focus on outcomes in literacy, numeracy and STEM subjects, helping lift teacher quality and better preparing our children for life after school.’


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8 COMMENTS

  1. Fantastic news for the private schools again ! I would like to raise awareness for our small public schools ,some of them cant even get the school yard properly fenced. So we have kindergarten and special needs students being able to wander out of school boundaries. These children deserve a safe fenced area to play in. I could go on and on about small achools lacking resources, even though they do an absolute wonderful job educating and keeping our children safe at school.

    • Sandra, Melanie et al. While funding to catholic schools has increased compared with funding to public schools it is still less on average than that of public schools and only partly redresses historic under-funding. When I attended St Finbarrs in the Bay in the 50s and 60s our education was completely unfunded by the the State or Commonwealth, and fees if paid were very low – the system ran on the voluntary work of nuns and parents. This was in spite of the lower average socio-economic background of Catholics in Australia since the convict era. When my kids went through the Catholic parochial system in the ACT, public funding was about two thirds, and with still relatively modest fees for substantially less than the public system, and with similar socioeconomic background kids, the schools were up to the high general ACT standard. Now the free riding by the Australian people on the contributions and voluntary work of religious and parents for the education of a significant proportion of its kids is being brought to an end. But still some people want to give more to the public system than to more efficient and effective private schools, schools that are educating ordinary Australians who happen to support the values that the Catholic system teaches. A friend of mine was one of the kids who were pulled en masse out of the convent school in Goulburn over 50 years ago and sent to the local public school – triggering the start of state aid. Perhaps its time for another such “strike” to remind critics of the value we all get from the Catholic school system.

  2. This would be at least the second time that Kevin has announced this funding.
    Won’t it be terrific when he announces that the LNP will fund the FULL GONSKI !
    We wish………

  3. Private sectarian school get’s my tax money…
    Why am I not surprised?
    Hey Kev how about pouring some cash on the public schools, the ones I want my tax money to go to!

    • Scott Can I open by commenting that after the tax has been paid the money no longer belongs to the taxpayer – it is he money of people of Australia and NSW we are talking about – whether they pay tax or not Over the years the churches, and the Catholic church in particular has saved Australians a very large amount of spending on social services and education and health, They continue to contribute, but the extent of their contribution has been reduced as we now are starting to pay something closer to what people using government provided schools have always received, I really wonder what would lead you to suggest that the schools ” brainwash children into their first century cult worship. The Catholic church does teach Christianity – which for many Australians – perhaps t is still a majority – believe provides values and meaning in their life. But even in St Finbarrs primary school the 1950s we were taught Christian values including the doctrines of Catholicism, but we were also taught tolerance to other faiths and respect for those who were not Catholic but shared its values of faith and charity. My children attended the Catholic primary and High schools from 2000 to 2012; far from being brainwashed they were taught the same strong analytic and critical skills that I was taught at Mullum High and at uni. And like students in any good good Australian education they were certainly taught to eschew stereotypes and that criticism should be based on facts .

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